


Paintball!

by ifijustsayhello



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, My First Fanfic, Not Canon Compliant, Paintball, Team Bonding, and everything is good in the world :), the avengers are actually children
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-03
Updated: 2015-08-06
Packaged: 2018-04-12 17:05:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4487712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifijustsayhello/pseuds/ifijustsayhello
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-Age of Ultron. Steve and Natasha are trying to get the New Avengers (Falcon, War Machine, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Vision, and YOU) to be a team. But it's not so easy. They eventually decide to call in the old team (minus Bruce who is still MIA) for some forced team bonding. Chaos ensues. Inspired by those Community episodes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Team Dynamic is Shit

**Author's Note:**

> Things you should know:  
> Mostly based off of the MCU. I may throw in some different comic-verse tidbits, mainly because Wanda's powers are so different in the movie.  
> Quicksilver isn't dead. I don't plan to go into it in the fic, so the gist of it is: his metabolism + Wanda's powers + the cradle= a very much alive Quicksilver.  
> This is my first fic and it isn't completely planned out yet so I may add some tags/warnings [I haven't decided how much I'll delve into other ships besides Pietro and Yours, I also haven't decided how 'mature' your relationship will get ;)]. I also may go back and edit previous chapters when posting new ones. If I do I will make a note before the newest chapter so that you don't have to re-read all the chapters every time I post a new one.  
> I will be using Serbian as the Maximoff's native language. This is based off the language on signs in Sokovia in Age of Ultron. Translations will appear in between these brackets {}. However, I do not speak Serbian and will do my best with Google translate. Feel free to comment corrections!

Steve was rummaging in the fridge when Natasha entered the kitchen. She leaned against the freezer with her arms crossed and popped her gum at him. His back immediately stiffened and he turned to her.

“What’s wrong?” Steve shut the fridge.

“You were right.” Natasha smiled at his offended look. “The team dynamic is terrible.”

He mimicked her stance. “You’ve never denied that.”

“Yes, but now I agree that it’s a problem. Teams can work without trust, but not without respect.” She was clearly referring to the incident in training this morning where Sam and Pietro had gotten into a physical fight, which lead to Rhodes getting involved, and then Wanda, and finally you. All while Vision helplessly floated to the side, not sure what to do about his teammates attacking each other.

Steve raised an eyebrow. “We both know that a team without trust won’t last though.”

“Yeah, well. One step at a time, Cap.” Natasha pushed off of the freezer, unfolding a piece of paper from her pocket and handing it to him.

“What’s this?”

“Team bonding.”

He skimmed the paper. “You really think a game will get them to respect each other?”

“No. But it might make some of them start to like each other. Like I said, one step at a time, Steve.”

He looked into Natasha’s eyes and, as always, saw her well-hidden heart. “Okay. But: we’re adjusting some of these rules, we’re calling in reinforcements, and,” he grinned at her, “we’re playing too.”

You walked into the kitchen to see Steve and Natasha smiling at each other the exact same way as when they’d chosen _The Incredibles_ for movie night. Pietro took the whole running-across-water thing as a personal challenge. You narrowed your eyes at them and asked, “what are you two up to?”

Steve jammed the piece of paper he was holding into his pocket and Natasha grabbed a bag of pita chips out of the cupboard without looking. She answered you, “just getting a snack.” She dropped her smile and you gulped. “Have a problem with us using the kitchen?”

The last thing you wanted to do was upset The Black Widow. “No! Of course not, you two just looked…”

A thick accent finished your sentence, “stupid?” Pietro had materialized right next to you, taking a sizable bite out of an apple.

“That’s not what I was going to say!”

“Relax, принцеза {princess}.”

Your cheeks reddened and you clenched your fists. “You know I hate it when you call me that!” You especially hated how amazing he sounded speaking his native tongue. And that a part of you really liked the idea of being _his_ princess.

Steve gave Natasha a meaningful look. She plastered on a grin and grabbed Steve’s wrist, dragging him out of the room.

“Bye kids. Try not to hurt each other this time.”

A fresh wave of guilt washed over you. His black eye did look pretty bad...but it was totally an accident. Besides, if anyone deserved a black eye it was Pietro. You rounded on him, reminded of your anger. “Why do you always have to embarrass me in front of them?!”

Pietro tossed his apple core and leaned forward, bringing his face right in front of yours. His eyes were so bright blue it was a religious experience to be so close to them. “Why are you always so nervous around them?” You scrunched your eyebrows together. He leaned back and continued in a soft tone. “You do not need to try so hard to impress those two. They already обожавати (worship/adore/admire) you.”

You didn’t know what that meant but you didn’t care. “Whatever, Pietro. Just stop calling me princess or I’ll convince everyone on the team to call you ‘Dicksilver’.” His brows furrowed and you leaned in so that your faces were close again. “Even your sister.” You paused to enjoy his enraged face up close but then his eyes focused on your lips and you did the same. He was gone before the moment could sink in, leaving behind his blue contrail.

You shook your head and picked up an apple of your own. You really didn’t need Pietro Maximoff in your life right now.

 

You woke up in the morning and immediately groaned. The idea of having to see the team after yesterday’s fight made you want to crawl back under your blankets and do your best hermit crab impersonation. Just because you and Pietro were always mad at eachother didn’t mean you wanted that dynamic with the others.

As it turned out, no one was really up to eating breakfast as a team anyways. You grabbed a bowl of lucky charms and two slices of buttered toast and headed for Sam’s room. He seemed a bit surprised at first and he wouldn’t look you in the eye. But he smiled at you when you offered the bowl and let you in for some morning cartoons. He apologized for his behavior yesterday and you told him he was already forgiven.

You spent the rest of your free time before training doing laundry and reading.

Your solo training session was just as frustrating as usual. You were scheduled right after Pietro today so you showed up ten minutes late and Steve was not happy about it. Surprisingly, he was just as patient as always while you attempted to control the force of your gravitational pulls. It was easiest when adjusting a singular gravitational pull, but once you tried to manipulate several at a time it became overwhelming. And then your frustration would make it nearly impossible to do anything.

For a moment it seemed like you’d made a breakthrough. Steve and all the equipment slammed into the ceiling, but you managed to stay grounded for once.

“Great work, (Y/N)! Now lower just me down.”

You stuck your tongue out of the right corner of your mouth while slowly moving your right hand down. Steve had theorized that using your hands might help your control. So far, it hadn’t been much of an improvement.

“Gently!” he screamed while hurtling to the ground.

“Sorry!” you yelped and everything else fell from the ceiling. You ran over to him and flung the dumbbell headed straight for him across the room.

Steve smiled. “It’s okay, I can take it. I’ve had plenty worse falls in my day.” You offered a hand. You must have looked pretty miserable because he put both his hands on your shoulders and bent to your eye-level. “Hey. Don’t beat yourself up. You’re getting there.”

You gave him a weak half-smile.

Sam called out as he approached you two, “I thought the punishment for dropping Captain America was five laps?”

Steve answered, “only if it’s on accident.” You eyed Steve. “We were doing a bit of combat training and I told her not to hold back.”

Sam smirked. “Big mistake. I once saw this one give someone a black eye on accident.”

“Oh me too! It was impressive.”

You resisted the urge to cover your face as they grinned at you like two Dads at their kindergartener’s first play. “Okay! My sessions over, time for me to be anywhere but here.”

“See you in a couple hours for group.” Sam called to your back.

 

You grabbed some lunch, making an extra sandwich for Wanda as a peace offering. She’d been given the last solo session of the day which meant that she wouldn’t have time to make herself anything before group training.

Once you’d packed a lunch tin, you went to watch the end of her session. Watching her practice was always fun. The way she moved her hands seemed like intricate dance moves and the level of intensity on her face was inspiring.

You were a little nervous as she exited the training room, clearly exhausted. What if she rejected your lunch? This was stupid. She probably made herself something ahead of time. And why would she want to forgive you? You’d given her precious brother a black eye for christ’s sake.

But she smiled when she saw you and gave you a big hug. She rested her head over your shoulder and spoke gently into your ear. “Oh, (Y/N) I am so sorry about yesterday. It was just awful. I was not sure if you were mad at me.”

You patted her back and told her, “I’m sorry too. Let’s just forget it ever happened.”

She pulled away and said, “already done.”

You smiled and held out the tin. “I made you some lunch, you know, if you don’t already have something. I was just worried you wouldn’t have time since group is in ten minutes.”

She beamed at you and took the tin. “This is very kind of you.”

“No problem. It’s just a sandwich.”

But it wasn’t just a sandwich to her. Wanda still wasn’t used to the idea of not having to worry about getting her next meal. She pulled you into another hug.

You gave her head an awkward pat before saying, “well I should go get ready. See you in there!” You headed inside the training room to begin warming up.

Pietro came out of his hiding spot around the corner and sat down next to his sister on a bench, watching you through the one-sided window. “So. That was nice of (Y/N).”

Wanda swallowed her bite of sandwich and smirked at her brother. He never was good at hiding any of his emotions. She didn’t need powers to feel the jealousy radiating from him. “Yes it was. I am glad our friendship is intact.”

“Yes, well.” His unfinished sentence hung in the air as he pulled an apple out of her tin. He took a bite but let her snatch it out of his hand.

“That is mine. Go get your own apology lunch. Or maybe you should make one yourself?”

Pietro huffed and sped into the training room.

Wanda watched through the window as her brother sped right past you without so much as a wave and began to stretch. “Фоол. Никада нећеш добити њена љубав туда. {Fool. You’ll never get her love that way.}” She took another bite of the sandwich and added, “Или њу укусни сендвичи. {Or her delicious sandwiches.}”

“Whose sandwiches are delicious?” Natasha asked as she walked to the training room.

Wanda blushed and muttered, “No one’s.”

Natasha shrugged her shoulders. “Alright. But group starts in less than a minute so I’d finish my _укусно сендвич_ {delicious sandwich} if I were you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think and what you want to happen next. Constructive criticism is always welcome.


	2. A Couple of Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: The New Avengers had a physical fight and Steve and Natasha are planning something to improve team relations. Pietro was a flirtatious asshole. You made up with Sam and Wanda, who likes your sandwiches and wants her brother to be nicer to you.  
> Now: The team has gathered for their team training session but Steve and Natasha have A Couple of Surprises up their sleeves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kudos and the wonderful comments! It really makes me happy to see. I suspect the comments will be what keep me going once we get near the end.  
> I also wanted to say that I rewatched "modern warfare" to help me get going on the plot of this beast and, boy, does that episode live up.

Steve clapped his hands. “Avengers assemble!” The team started lining up near him.

“You really love saying that, don’t you Cap?” Natasha smirked at him.

“It’s fun. You should try it sometime, Widow.” He kept a straight face.

Steve and Natasha turned to face the group. No one was really standing near each other, apart from the twins and then you and Sam.

Steve cleared his throat. “Okay, team. Yesterday’s practice was…”

“A shit-show?” Pietro offered. You would have bristled at his comment, were it not for how absolutely hilarious it was to hear him use American vernacular. You couldn’t help the devious smile that escaped your lips and his scowl dissipated at the sight. Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad between you.

“Embarrassing.” Steve corrected. Rhodes straightened at the word and you inhaled sharply. Pietro’s face hardened again and he turned away from you. “You’re supposed to be a team. You’re supposed to work together. It’s pretty obvious that we’re a long way away from that. But that’s okay. It’s not like anyone out there in the world could use your help right now.”

Natasha slid in front of Steve, blocking him from the team. “I thought we were doing the positive approach, not guilt tripping the kids, remember?”

He gave a slight nod and side-stepped her. “So, to teach you the value of teamwork we’re pitting you all against each other.” You and Sam exchanged confused looks. “There will be no group training today. Instead, we’re playing a game.” You narrowed your eyes, starting to feel suspicious. “A last-man standing deal.”

You hesitantly asked the question of the hour, “What’s the game, Cap?”

Natasha answered, “Paintball!” The only other time you’d seen her that excited was when she tried to teach you basic coding. She was so into it that she didn’t even notice you could barely understand 5% of what she was saying. 

“I’m sorry, what?” Rhodes exclaimed.

“Paintball? What does that have to do with teamwork?” Vision asked.

Sam threw both his arms up and shouted, “Yes!”

Steve abandoned his stern expression for a smile. “Before you all get too riled up, there’s a couple...details you should know. Nat, the list?”

She pulled the same piece of paper you’d seen yesterday from her pocket. However, this time you could make out the front as a very cheesy, very 80’s themed ad for a paintball arena. She read from the back, “First,  each competitor will be given a supply of pellets in a unique color. Second, each competitor will be given a single paintball gun. Third, a competitor must be shot by three different colors to be out of the game.” Steve held up three fingers for emphasis. “Fourth, alliances are allowed and encouraged but will not be assigned or enforced. Fifth, competitors who are out shall refer to the additional instructions,” Steve pulled a sealed packet out of his sweatshirt as Natasha continued, “for their continued gameplay. Sixth, all competitors must remain inside the New Avengers Facility at all times. Exiting the building will be considered an immediate forfeit, outdoors is out of bounds. Seventh, powers are allowed” Sam and Rhodey exchanged upset looks before she could finish, “as well as any suits or gear the competitor has access to.” She looked up to faces with varying amounts of skepticism. “Any questions?”

Sam looked like he had about one hundred but he settled for, “So if everyone has different colors and everyone has to be shot by three different colors, then you have to be shot by three different people to be out?”

“That’s the idea.” Steve responded.

Sam nodded to himself.

“And we can’t leave the building. Does the roof count?” You asked.

“Is the roof outside?” Natasha asked.

“Yes…”

“Well there’s your answer.”

Everyone turned to look at Vision as he asked, “And why are those who are ‘out’ in charge of the ‘additional instructions’? Why not yourselves?” You and the team swiveled your heads in unison to Natasha and Steve.

They had those mischievous smiles on again.

“Well it wouldn’t be fair for us to be in charge of those, since we’ll be playing too.” Steve answered.

“What!” Sam choked out. “I get to kick Captain America’s ass at paintball today?!”

“Only if I don’t kick yours first, bird boy.” Natasha smiled sweetly at him.

Rhodes threw up a hand. “I don’t think it’s fair for the spy to play.”

“Aw, what’s the matter colonel? Afraid of an itsy bitsy spider?”

“No, I just think this is a little ridiculous.”

“Well it is about to get more ridiculous,” Wanda turned towards the door.

Sure enough, the door swung open to reveal none other than everybody’s favorite billionaire, Prince/God, and...some guy you had never met before.

“Oh yeah, did we mention? They’re playing too.” Steve tilted his head towards his friends.

“Any more surprises?” Pietro asked, tapping his foot.  The mystery guy slung his arm over Pietro’s shoulder and ruffled his hair.

“Good to see you, kid.”

Pietro ducked under his arm and pushed the guy away. He crossed his arms while the guy and Wanda exchanged a hug.

“Yeah I’ve got another surprise. The last one standing gets a private training session with the original Avengers.” Natasha answered Pietro’s question.

“And what about those of us who have already learned all of the” he looked pointedly at the guy, “ old  tricks?”

Tony cocked an eyebrow. “Really, Sonic? I’ve got moves you can’t even dream of.”

“Doubt it, Stark.”

Natasha broke the tension. She was here to pelt people with paintballs, not witness another sorry fist fight. “Alternatively, you can make a request of any one of us. A question that must be answered truthfully, a favor, even a dare.”

Tony’s eyes widened “I didn’t agree to some high stakes truth or dare bullshit!”

Steve said, “If you win you can do the same, Tony.”

Tony paused. And then the evilest little grin slowly emerged on his face. “Sounds fair, spangles. Missed that righteous jaw of yours.” They exchanged a one arm hug and you weren’t sure if how hard Steve slapped Tony on the back was an accident. When Tony turned to Natasha she just said, “no” before he could even open his arms all the way.

She addressed the room, “The game begins after dinner tonight. I suggest you all prepare in the meantime.” 

The group dispersed. Thor went over to talk to Vision, Steve joined them, and Rhodey left with Tony. Natasha walked over to the guy and gave him a hug.

You whispered into Sam’s ear, “Who is that guy? Is that Hawkguy? Am I supposed to hug him?”

He laughed. “Yeah, that’s Hawkeye. He’s been trying to lay low since Ultron. That’s why he hasn’t visited the new facility yet.” Sam didn’t let that sink in before shouting, “Hey, Farmer Clint! This is the newest recruit, (Y/N)”

Clint’s head whipped around. You panicked and kind of waved at him. He smiled. “Is that your real name or your codename?”

“Uh, both?”

Clint turned to Natasha. “You haven’t given her a field name yet?”

“(Y/N) is a picky  принцеза {princess} .” Pietro looked at you straight on. You blushed and clenched your fists. Pietro smiled at you and somehow managed to look utterly smug, despite the (now fading) black eye. Clint arched his eyebrows and looked to Wanda. She gave a small knowing nod. His responding grin was massive.

Clint turned to shake your hand. “We’ll work on that.”

“Okay” you smiled at him, smothering your anger at Pietro.

“(Y/N)!” Thor picked you up in a bear hug from behind. Pietro frowned. He picked up Wanda and sped out of the room. Clint and Natasha followed suit, at a human pace.

Thor set you down to give Sam a warm handshake as you turned around. “Good to see you, Thor. Who won mini-golf last week?”

Although Thor didn’t have a cell phone of his own, he did use Jane’s phone to send photos to his friends. Usually it was some heart-meltingly adorable candid of her working.

He frowned. “Darcy. We suspect she incorrectly recorded the scores, however. Jane believes it was no accident.”

“That girl.” Sam rolled his eyes. “Every time I see her my wallet goes missing…”

You tuned out their conversation as you looked towards the door, Pietro’s frown stuck in your mind. He looked  hurt . But nothing happened? Maybe Wanda had said something telepathically? Was she worried about the game? She didn’t seem too excited about it but she didn’t really seem upset either. You felt like you should go talk to her, considering your recent effort at friendship. Maybe you could also find out what upset her brother so much. The twins were consistently the greatest mystery in your life

“I’ll catch up with you guys at dinner, okay?” You said.

“Sure.” Sam replied but he could tell you were worried about something. You smiled at him and gave Thor another quick hug before leaving the training room.

“Do not be late, (Y/N)!” Thor called after you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I PROMISE I'LL GET TO THE ACTUAL PAINTBALL VERY SOON. Also, the next chapter should be very Pietro-y so yeah.


End file.
